The Brewing Storm
by M. Castor
Summary: We find our two friends, Mia and Seth facing a rough patch after their decampment from Moonlight. A strange man tells her why she is here; Seth desire for something dangerous is manifested. Read after CHAOS EMERALD IN DARKNESS
1. Chapter 1

**Ah, the beginning of something…horrible. Read on readers, read on~**

Seth and I sit at the opposite ends of the couch. We were so overwhelmed with relief when we found each other and now…it's just awkward and we don't what else to say to each other.

I fiddle with my fingers while he stares at the floor and occasionally out the window. Both of us sigh emptily, unsure of what to say. Well, I'm not sure about him, but I'm really nervous. The last time I saw him, he was angry and had the wild idea of going to another world, and he got what he wanted.

"Are you…" the rest is swallowed by my apprehension.

"Mia, speak up."

"Are you going to tell…me what happened to you that night? Why did you go to the beach, why were you so upset?"

The anxiety on his face shifts to a stolid gaze.

"What's more important to you?" he asks as he rises from the couch and opens the front door, letting in a soft breeze. "The fact that we made it to another world, or what happened that night? This is what we wanted to do, and now we have."

But _I_ didn't want this. _I_ never wanted to leave home, or travel to another world-I wish I can tell him that. He can be so headstrong to the point where he shuts everyone else out.

"Seth, I was scared for us, and I still am. I didn't expect this to happen."

"You don't sound too thrilled."

"I'm not, to be honest."

He huffs exasperatedly, shuts the door and stomps halfway up the staircase. I quickly get up and begin to follow him up until he tosses a folded, piece of paper at me.

"What is it?"

"Read it."

_To whom it may concern,_

_I know that you have traveled far and wide to get here. Meet me by the lawyer's attorney office on Coffee Boulevard. You'll see it when you arrive, tonight at 8. I will do my best to explain your current situation and give you the option of employment for supporting yourselves while you are here. I look forward to meeting you._

My heart sinks into my stomach. Employment means we'll be stuck here-does that mean I can't get back home? No, have faith Mia, home is around the corner for sure.

"I found it earlier," Seth answers before I can question him, heading up the stairs. "Better hurry, it's already 8:05."

"You're not gonna go?"

"I don't need to."

Seth slams the bedroom door shut and remains eerily silent. When he's like this, it's best to leave him be.

'

Finally, Coffee Boulevard is right here. Why did Seth leave me to do this by myself? It would have been nice of him to at least help me get there. But he's probably mad at me right now and there's nothing I can do except give him his space. Oh, here's the law firm, so the place should be right here.

I approach the flat, one-story building, with windows plastered with wood. Written on them is _Closed_ with red spray paint-hopefully this is the place because I'm already super late. I knock on the door, double-guessing the spot.

"It's open," a man says inside. I turn the knob, and shove the heavy door open. The hanging dim, lights shake as the door closes. A man, wearing small-framed sunglasses and a long raincoat leans back on a chair behind an unnecessarily long desk. One of the girls, sitting in front of him, turns around to observe me while the other has her head down.

"Good evening, ma'am," he greets warmly, resting his head on his fingers. "Were you aware of the time?"

"No, I wasn't. I apologize for coming so late," I put my hand on my irritated head. "I can't excuse my lateness."

"Don't worry about it, just have a seat."

I take the seat at the end, next to the girl with her head down. The man clears his throat and tilts his chair back and forth against the wall.

"I'll repeat what I said to these two young women."

"I'm sorry," says the girl who turned to me earlier. "I can't hear it again. May I be excused?"

Without waiting for his approval, she rises from the stool and hurries out the door with her teary eyes. The hooded girl next to me keeps silent.

"Last night, you came to this world, correct?"

How does he know? I nod warily.

"I've seen many people enter different worlds the same way you all did last night, as 'shooting stars'. It means that your original home is gone."

"G-gone?"

The mysterious man nods and leans forward. "I'm being too lenient. It's been taken by the forces of Darkness."

I can't imagine my beautiful home being gone forever-how could this have happened? Seth, what happened to our wonderful home? Will we ever see it again?

"Seeing the look on your face, I know what you're wondering," he assumes. "Like the young lady outside, I'm sure you've seen a black door somewhere at home."

I gasp.

"That's what I thought. When that door opened, it allowed the Heartless to enter your world and devour it. It can't be opened by itself-one with a heart opened to corrupted Darkness can open it. You probably wouldn't have any idea who by any chance."

My hands tremble as I hold back the tears that plague my eyes. Who could have done something like that to Moonlight Town?

"Excuse me," I swallow hard to conceal my breaking voice. "Who are the Heartless?"

He takes off his hat, letting his auburn hair out. "They are monsters without minds who are after the hearts of every living thing in every world. Those things are what took the homes of many people besides you girls."

"Black monsters with yellow eyes…" I hear the hooded girl with her head down mumble something like that to herself.

Oh my goodness, the cave where we got the Chaos Emerald! Those things that attacked us-they were just like the scary monsters on my island. They're called…Heartless. While I wordlessly ponder how close I was to death, the girl who rushed out the room reenters, taking her seat somberly while whispering a polite "Sorry" to the man behind the desk. He raises his hand forgivingly, and continues.

"Rest assured, for at the moment, they cannot enter this world. Now, to business-you girls can do certain tasks that require some physical power and mental powers for the sake of others. When you traveled, you were tagged with the ability to locate hidden gateways to other worlds. Therefore, you can move about different worlds, but not without feeling some side effects like nausea, dizziness, etcetera. By doing these tasks, you can get paid money to do whatever you want."

"How do you know all this?" the girl who rushed out asks bitterly.

"You said it requires some physical strength?" the hooded girl finally speaks.

"I know all this because we have shared the same experiences. Yes, for most of these tasks, you'll need to know how to defend for yourselves. Otherwise, you will die out there. Anymore questions ladies?"

"You're positive there's no way of getting back home?" the girl rakes her silky hair with her fingers.

"At the moment, no."

I can sense the disappointment in all of us. We all stay silent until the man stands up, showing off his true, lengthy height.

"If you have more questions, come back here and I'll give your tasks. Now before you girls leave, you should introduce yourselves," he says suggestively as he buttons his coat. The girl at the other end pokes her head out behind the silent girl next to me, sighs sadly, and extends a hand out to me.

"Hi, I'm Mizuki," she prims.

"I'm Mia." I glance at the girl next to me. "Your name?"

She takes my hand, shakes it weakly, and says in a dull voice, "Risa Willow-Greenhorn."

"It's a good idea that you get to know each other. Right now, I can imagine you're all on edge and unable to comprehend the terrible events that happened to you. Support is what you all need. My name is Erick McGraw by the way, and it was pleasure to meet you all."

'

"Hey Seth, I think you should've come tonight," I mutter groggily as I climb under the covers. Seth, who's sitting by the sliding door leading to the balcony, follows each raindrop that precipitates on the clear doors.

"And why is that?" he wonders, hinting aggravation and fatigue.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm tired too, I went through so much today and the devastating news from Mr. McGraw has exacerbated my emotions and physical being.

"The man who I met there told these other girls what happened to their homes…and to ours."

"What'd he say?"

"That our world was…taken by these things called the Heartless."

In a hasty fashion, he gets up from the chair and heads for the bedroom door. "Goodnight Mia."

"Seth?"

"Get a good night sleep, I have a surprise for you tomorrow morning."

"Seth, wait a second."

He doesn't turn to face me but he waits for my statement at the door.

"Mr. McGraw, the man who told me all this, said that coming to this world meant that Moonlight Town was gone. How are we going to get back home?" I lean forward, awaiting his response.

"Just be ready for tomorrow."

He shuts the door, leaving me pondering the now rhetorical question. Seth and I are stuck here, with these people we're not used to and an environment we're not used to. Seth enjoys adventure- he likes facing the unknown and diving into the things everyone is afraid to do, which is why I admire him. I can't be like him, strong, smart, level-headed, and dauntless; I'll always be the same feeble and fretful person while he unabatedly grows into a stronger person.

"Mia," whispers Seth leniently. "Mia, wake up."

I squint at the sunlight spilling in to the bedroom generously, and then at Seth, full clothed standing by my bed.

"Get dressed quick, we gotta hurry or else we'll be late."

Late for what?

'

Seth tugs my hand along as my eyes stay shut. Wherever we are, we had to take a boat to get to so I hope it's not too far from the house-oh that's right! Topaz and that other guy are coming over-I really do hope we're not too far. I feel the steps that I'm climbing up and Seth's excited hand teeter.

"Almost there," he assures with a smile that I can sense.

"Seth, I can't stray-"

"Alright, open them."

As my eyes open, my heart flutters like a gathering of fleeing butterflies. The blue water surrounding us with the beauty of all these flowers makes a breathtaking sight. My mouth opens, but I'm unable to utter a single sound. When I look down, daisies, tulips, roses, and all different kinds of flowers cover my shoes.

"Do you like it?" Seth has the audacity to ask, already knowing the answer. He smirks at my face.

"This place…is beautiful," I mutter in awe. "I love it."

He plops down on the flowers and invites me to sit next to him. I oblige happily, gazing at the city far off in the distance. For a while, we just sit there, marveling in at the beauty surrounding us without a word. All the problems, all the fear, and all the frustration evaporates as I lean on Seth's shoulder tenderly.

"Like this place now?" his eyes look into mine confidently.

"Yeah."

His head starts to lean in closer to mine, as if he is about to-

_Kiss me._

Suddenly, my face burns with warm blood pumping through. The paopu fruit…sharing our lives eternally, I guess it's not a myth.

Something latches onto my upper arm. Seth's eyes become sharp with his tone.

"What are you doing here?"

Very abruptly, it pulls me away from Seth and keeps me locked in its hand. As I look to see who attacked me, the man's terrifying gaze makes me drop my head down.

"You thought you could escape me, didn't you?" he states rather than asks stringently. "Wherever you run to, I can find you. Now, find the next Chaos Emerald."

When he eases his grip on my arm, I can't stop shaking. Seth's fists can't stop either.

"What do you think you're doing?" Seth springs to his feet and steps toward the boy in a huff. "If you ever touch her like that again…"

"Tch," the boy rolls his eyes and gives his back to him, watching me. I take a cautious step back, looking down at the trampled flowers. When I look back up, Seth has his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Hands off."

"Seth, I don't want you to get hurt," I plead, remembering what the boy did to the Heartless in the cave yesterday. If I let that happen to Seth, I would never forgive myself. Seth keeps his furious stare on the man's back.

"Make m-"

In a blur of black, the man's fists end up striking Seth in the face, sending him back a couple of inches. I can't believe it, this man didn't even break a sweat while hitting him!

"My patience is running thin," the man ominously says to me as he starts walking to me. Without warning, he's stopped by a quickly, recovered Seth, who stands in between him and me.

"I will crush you," threatens Seth in a very scary tone. Even though he didn't say to me, I felt my stomach drop into my intestines.

"I don't have time for flakes. Step aside."

I gawk at Seth's glowing hand. A dark purple covering envelops it greedily, slowly traveling up his right arm. Seth strikes to punch the man in the face, but is restrained by the boy. As he grunts and tries to get a surge of power, the boy shakily holds Seth's hand in front of Seth's face, and with too much ease, tosses him behind him. Face-forward, Seth is heading for the water.

I scurry past the boy and stop at the edge of the isle. "Seth!"

Like a rocket, he propels off the same dark purple gas on his feet, zooms over me and toward the other boy, who has his back turned to Seth. Nonchalantly, the boy swiftly faces him and catches Seth's punch yet again. Where did Seth get all that power from? He could never do that before, just like when he caught that palm tree on Moonlight Beach.

"Do I break your hand or your arm?" the boy taunts with a face of incredible calm, contrary to Seth's strained expression.

"Seth, just stop it please."

"Why..? You think..ngh…I can't beat him?" demands Seth in between stressed grunts.

"This is over now." The rings on the boy's leather jacket begin to shine brightly-I know what's coming. I wrap my arms around Seth's shoulders and tug him hard enough to from the boy's grip. We fall on our behinds, letting the rings' light die down . Angrily, Seth whips his head to me.

"Why are you underestimating me?"

I jump, startled by his outburst. "I don't want you to die."

"You're calling me_ weak_."

"You're far from weak Seth. But, you _don't know_ what he's capable of."

I rise to my feet, try to dodge Seth's vicious glare at me and the man, and step in front of the man who ruined my perfect time with Seth. _"Please don't hurt him,"_ I beg mercifully.

"Mia!" Seth disdainfully clamors.

Like yesterday, he's taken by surprise for a second, and then narrows his intense eyes. I walk past him and begin my descent down the steps. "It's this way."

* * *

><p>This is why I have to get stronger. Mia doesn't even think I'm strong enough to take him on and practically went on her knees for my life. <em>Never again will I ever face this humiliation.<em>

When they left, I get on my knees and pound the flowers into the ground. If I had enough power, I would have wiped the floor with that jerk. If I only had more…

But that means I have to-

**That's all folks, tune in whenever I put up her next story and share some reviews~**


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